France on pollen alert, 81 departments placed on red alert

A spring air floats in the streets of Grenoble (Isère). The pollens are out, and passersby have felt it. “Sneezing, itchy eyes, always having a cold, and a little bit of a cough”, lists a woman. During peak periods, half of the customers of Florian Laracine, pharmacist, come to buy anti-allergy treatment.“We are seeing more and more patients, but I think the epidemic is not at its peak”thinks the latter.

Blame it on global warming

The guilty ? Birch and grass pollens, in full bloom throughout the territory. With global warming, the pollen period is longer, and the peaks more intense. “With winters that are getting milder, temperatures are rising and C02 concentrations are increasing. These two elements promote the growth of trees, which unfortunately start emitting more pollen”explains Samuel Monnier, engineer in aerobiological monitoring.